As Strictly Come Dancing fever begins to grip the nation again, a Birmingham dental worker and his partner are taking to the dance floor for another TV series – The Secret Life of the Ballroom.

The documentary, on digital channel W, follows 10 ordinary people as they embark on competitive ballroom dancing for the first time.

The cameras follow the five pairs of amateurs, including Michael Bentley and Donna Rhodes, over three months as they try to master the samba, jive and quickstep and travel round the UK for competitions.

To quote Donna: “It’s a bit like having an affair, but without the sex.

Michael Bentley and Donna Rhodes, competing in The Secret Life of the Ballroom on W (Image: UKTV)

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Mike, a former practice manager of Boots Dentalcare in Birmingham, reveals that his favourite dance to learn was the tango: “The competition was held in Birmingham so that made it extra special.

“We practised so hard but I remember my back was killing me with the static movement. I had a lot of physio over those two weeks and then Donna had a nasty fall in our dress rehearsal, which was such a worry that we could even perform the dance at all.

On the dance floor in a competition (Image: UKTV)

“Samba was without doubt the hardest dance of them all. The first rehearsal was a total disaster, I could not master any of the steps or rhythms.

“But Donna and I are performers so we exercised this massively. The art of doing a variety of samba party faces was worth the time and effort.

The five couples competing in The Secret Life of the Ballroom (Image: UKTV)

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“On the one hand you’re thinking ‘why the hell am I putting myself through this’ but on the other hand you can’t help thinking ‘yes that was amazing’. The natural rush of adrenaline I got from performing was fabulous and that is what I enjoyed.”

Mike is appearing in the forthcoming Balsall Common Festival playing Miss Hannigan in Annie.

The Secret Life of the Ballroom starts on W on Sunday, September 17 at 8pm